Mosques in Japan responding to COVID-19 pandemic: Infection prevention and support provision

Religious activities tend to be conducted in enclosed, crowded, and close-contact settings, which have a high potential of transmitting the coronavirus disease, 2019 (COVID-19); therefore, religious communities are expected to take appropriate infection prevention measures. Meanwhile, during past disasters, religious communities have provided various types of support to affected people; hence, their role in disaster risk reduction has received much attention. In this study, we aimed to identify the infection prevention measures and support provision implemented by mosques—Islamic institutions managed and operated mainly by foreign Muslims living in Japan—during the one year from January 2020. We collected information from newspaper articles (18 articles on 19 mosques) and interviews with representatives of three mosques. We found that various infection control measures were implemented in mosques—refraining from mass prayers and closing buildings from an early stage (around February 2020); canceling large-scale events during the month of Ramadan; moving some activities online; and ensuring indoor ventilation and safe physical distance even when continuing face-to-face prayer activities. We also found that various types of support were provided by mosques—donating masks to the local government; listening to problems of people affected by COVID-19 regardless of their nationality; providing financial support to them; translating and disseminating information to foreign Muslims; and providing religious meals for them. This study provides actual examples of infection prevention measures taken by mosques in a Muslim-minority society and suggests that mosques appropriately responded to the needs of religious minorities during disasters, including COVID-19

An Alternatively Spliced Site in the Proline-Rich Region of Microtubule–Associated Protein 4 Plays an Important Role in Microtubule Stabilization

We previously reported that the microtubule-stabilizing activity of amicrotubule-associated protein (MAP) 4 variant, with a deletion in the Pro-rich region(MAP4-SP), was lower than that of a variant with a full length Pro-rich region (MAP4-LP).However, it remained unclear whether the deletion of the specific site in the Pro-rich regionis responsible for the reduction of the microtubule-stabilizing activity. To answer thisquestion, we examined the microtubule-stabilizing activities of four different MAP4variants, MAP4-SP, MAP4-LP, and two additional MAP4-LP variants lacking a part of theRepeat region, and considered the correlation between the activity and the structure.When microtubules assembled in the presence of each of the MAP4 variants were treatedwith nocodazole for disassembly, the MAP4-SP-induced microtubules were significantly lessstable than the other variant-induced microtubules. Another set of experiments, in whichthe microtubules were allowed to disassemble by dilution, yielded similar results: theMAP4-SP-induced microtubules were significantly less stable than the other variant-inducedmicrotubules. The results clearly indicated that the microtubule-stabilizing activity ofMAP4 depends on the specific, alternatively spliced site in the Pro-rich region

Microplastic Beads Incorporated into a Single Cell ： Analyses Using the Green Paramecium, Paramecium bursaria

The unicellular protist Paramecium bursaria harbors hundreds of symbiotic algae resembling Chlorella species in the cell. It is thought that the host P. bursaria uses some of photosynthetic products from these algae when sunlight is available. When photosynthesis cannot be performed, P. bursaria preys on bacteria, molds, algae, etc. in the surroundings for an energy source. Interestingly, some of the algae were observed to move from the food vacuole to the cytoplasm, becoming symbionts, within several days after incorporation into the cell. Since P. bursaria is benthic, it should be possible for various kinds of precipitated tiny particles to be taken up into the cell body during predation. In this study, microplastic (MP) beads with a diameter of 1 μm, which is about the same size as the algae, were mixed in the suspension medium of P. bursaria . It was observed that uptake of the beads into the cell body of P. bursaria started within 5 min after mixing, and the beads were observed inside P. bursaria even several days after the addition to the P. bursaria culture suspension. It is highly probable that the MP beads observed in the cell body somehow escaped from the food vacuole and moved into the cytoplasm.Full-Length PaperBy a grant from Research Institute for Integrated Science, Kanagawa Universit

Functional Analyses of a Neural Cell Specific Variant of Microtubule-Associated Protein 4

The present study was conducted to analyze the functions of a recently reported neural cell specific variant of MAP4 (MAP4-SP) that lacks 72 consecutive amino acid residues in a region that is rich in proline and basic residues (pro-rich region). Although our previous study (Matsushima et al., 2005)^, using the microtubule-binding domains of the isoform and wild type MAP4 (MAP4-LP), demonstrated a difference in the microtubule bundling activity of the two proteins, here, using the full-length forms of the MAP4 proteins, we show that the proteins do not differ in their microtubule bundling activity both in vitro and in vivo. Expression of the MAP4 proteins, as C-terminal fusions to green fluorescent protein (GFP), in neuroblastoma cells revealed that MAP4-SP decorated microtubules were more remarkable in appearance than MAP4-LP decorated microtubules in the neuronal growth cones. Moreover, a microtubule destabilizing protein, septin2, which interacts with the pro-rich region of MAP4, was more active in destabilizing MAP4-SP-microtubules than MAP4-LP-microtubules in vitro. The susceptibility of MAP4-SP microtubules to destabilization by septin could be attributed to the weaker binding affinity of MAP4-SP for microtubules, as was reported earlier. Taken together, the current findings suggest the possibility that the neural MAP4, with its short pro-rich region, could be important in maintaining more dynamic microtubules in neural cells, and thus allowing more plasticity in and rapid morphological changes of these cells

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Materials inspired by mathematics

Our world is transforming into an interacting system of the physical world and the digital world. What will be the materials science in the new era? With the rising expectations of the rapid development of computers, information science and mathematical science including statistics and probability theory, ‘data-driven materials design’ has become a common term. There is knowledge and experience gained in the physical world in the form of know-how and recipes for the creation of material. An important key is how we establish vocabulary and grammar to translate them into the language of the digital world. In this article, we outline how materials science develops when it encounters mathematics, showing some emerging directions

A new direction in mathematics for materials science

This book is the first volume of the SpringerBriefs in the Mathematics of Materials and provides a comprehensive guide to the interaction of mathematics with materials science. The anterior part of the book describes a selected history of materials science as well as the interaction between mathematics and materials in history. The emergence of materials science was itself a result of an interdisciplinary movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Materials science was formed by the integration of metallurgy, polymer science, ceramics, solid state physics, and related disciplines. We believe that such historical background helps readers to understand the importance of interdisciplinary interaction such as mathematics–materials science collaboration. The middle part of the book describes mathematical ideas and methods that can be applied to materials problems and introduces some examples of specific studies—for example, computational homology applied to structural analysis of glassy materials, stochastic models for the formation process of materials, new geometric measures for finite carbon nanotube molecules, mathematical technique predicting a molecular magnet, and network analysis of nanoporous materials. The details of these works will be shown in the subsequent volumes of this SpringerBriefs in the Mathematics of Materials series by the individual authors. The posterior section of the book presents how breakthroughs based on mathematics–materials science collaborations can emerge. The authors' argument is supported by the experiences at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), where many researchers from various fields gathered and tackled interdisciplinary research